Worshipers offer their prayers for the victims and families of the San Bernardino shooting, Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

Worshipers offer their prayers for the victims and families of the San Bernardino shooting, Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle

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Worshipers offer their prayers for the victims and families of the San Bernardino shooting, Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

Worshipers offer their prayers for the victims and families of the San Bernardino shooting, Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle

Image 8 of 10

Worshipers offer their prayers for the victims and families of the San Bernardino shooting, Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

Worshipers offer their prayers for the victims and families of the San Bernardino shooting, Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle

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Worshipers listen to Dr. Mahmoud Gamal denounces and condemn the San Bernardino shooting at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, in Houston.

Worshipers listen to Dr. Mahmoud Gamal denounces and condemn the San Bernardino shooting at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, in Houston.

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle

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Worshipers listen to Dr. Mahmoud Gamal denounces and condemn the San Bernardino shooting at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, in Houston.

Worshipers listen to Dr. Mahmoud Gamal denounces and condemn the San Bernardino shooting at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, in Houston.

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle

Muslims, saddened by massacre, seek solace at Friday prayers

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Friday prayers were about to begin at the Mercy Community Center in southwest Houston. Men and women, dressed in everything from suits to sweat pants, filed into the mosque after placing their shoes in bins lined up against the wall. They took their seats on the floor and waited for the sermon, or khutba, to begin.

Imam Wazir Ali knew his message to the faithful this Friday would need to offer guidance to a community struggling to come to terms with another atrocity committed by Muslims ostensibly in the name of their religion.

"If you stand up for justice, although it may not seem immediately that you're going to get it, know that God is on your side, that God will send you what's necessary to get the justice you're looking for," he said.

But earlier in the day, at a press conference, it was a wider audience Ali and other Muslim leaders sought to address - an increasingly anti-Islam audience stirred up by Wednesday's massacre in San Bernardino and the recent attacks in Paris.

'Affront to humanity'

While Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the alleged perpetrators of one of the worst mass killings in the U.S. in recent memory, "sported Muslim names," said MJ Khan, the president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, "they didn't reflect true Muslim values."

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It was a sentiment expressed across the nation Friday as Muslims gathered for prayers with the massacre in San Bernardino on their minds, and their hearts heavy because, yet again, they felt compelled to remind the world theirs is a peaceful faith and does not condone the slaughter of innocents.

"The Quran says if someone takes a life, it's as if he's killed all of mankind," Ali said at Friday's press conference. He stressed the importance of recognizing the common bond of humanity, beyond the distinctions of religion.

"I'm a human being that happens to be an Islamic leader. This is a direct affront to my humanity."

Within hours of the San Bernardino killings it emerged that the suspects were Muslims. Community leaders in California, perhaps prompted by the increasingly anti-Islam sentiment in America, immediately held a press conference to condemn their actions.

According to a recent poll, 56 percent of Americans believe that the values of Islam are at odds with U.S. values. Hate incidents against Muslims rose 14 percent in 2014, according to recently released FBI statistics, which charted a decline in similar cases against other groups, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Differing standards

Investigators have not ascribed a motive in the attack but said Friday that Malik, using a pseudonym, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State on a Facebook post shortly before. Even so, politicians and others have not shied away from linking the attack to Islamic extremism.

Both Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, who are seeking the Republican nomination for president, linked the incident to radical Islamic terrorism, the former in a tweet and the latter in a speech after the attack, the Times reported.

In Houston, Mustafaa Caroll, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Texas, pointed out that the plague of mass shootings in America in recent years has been committed by people of all backgrounds. But, he said, when a Muslim is the perpetrator, it reflects on the Muslim community in a negative way.

"No one says, 'let's round up all the young white men, ask them to carry ID,' " he said. "People aren't going to those persons' churches to find out what the preacher is saying to them. When a Muslim does it, or a minority does it, the community bears the brunt."

Finding ways to engage

At the Mercy Community Center mosque, Sacha Simmons, 38, didn't need to hear from her imam that her faith was a peaceful faith. She went to the mosque because she needed comfort, solace, prayer.

An oncology massage therapist, she had a full morning seeing cancer patients at her southwest Houston office, and she was saddened by what happened in San Bernardino and how it reflected negatively on her faith.

"I needed to break the bombardment of conversation circling our religion," she said. "I was trying to find some sense of solace, so I could continue doing the wonderful things I do and show people the beauty of our faith. I'm unapologetically Muslim. Proud to be American and proud to be Muslim."

Idriss Bada, 32, stood outside the Mercy Community Center following Friday prayer, chatting with two friends.

He didn't appreciate his faith being linked to Wednesday's massacre, he said.

But the misconceptions that surround Islam have led him to know it better so he better defend his religion to others.

"I make sure I have quotes from my book, and I do research, because not all will have the same knowledge," he said.

Carroll agrees open dialogue can make a difference, and to that end he meets with other interfaith leaders focused on achieving results.

"Now we're talking about what we can substantively do as faith-based organizations, to deal with real issues," he said. "We're not just saying love, peace and happiness. It's about influencing politics, finding underlying reasons for people doing things they're doing."

For her part, Simmons finds ways to engage with people. Even conversations that start out heated can quickly cool down, once people start to find commonalities.

"I hope people will take the opportunity to have a conversation and engage, find out for themselves," she said. "Rather than allow themselves to be fearful and caged."